At the end of the 2008 season, the MLS decided to scrap their reserve league.  I’m not the biggest supporter of the MLS, for reasons I won’t mention here, but I was happy to see the implementation of the reserve league back at the start of the 2005 season.  I believe in the European model of professional football, and the reserve league in Europe allows for injured players to regain their fitness, and allows fringe players to continue to improve.  For three seasons, MLS started to get the picture.  But, through bad management and poor funding, the reserve league folded at the end of the last MLS season. 

I can’t understand why MLS doesn’t seem to value the importance of youth development.  In the US, soccer is generally a pay-for-play sport.  Kids that have money typically end up playing in the ODP and regional programs, but not always because they are the most talented.  The more tournaments a player can play in, the more exposure the player can get, that’s no secret.  But, by not supporting youth development, the MLS is missing out on talented kids, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to travel across the country getting noticed by scouts.  MLS clubs need to step in and foot the bill to develop the talent of kids who can’t afford to join a travel team.  If a talented soccer player who is on the wrong side of the monetary line gets an opportunity to purse the sport he loves because a professional team shows an interest, who do you think he’ll want to play for?  If I can see this, I can’t believe that MLS can’t see it. 

The next step for most youth players is going to college.  Let’s be honest, college is typically a dead end for most players.  Some are able to make the jump, such as Benny Feilhaber who played at UCLA, but most end their career at the age of 22 in order to get a ‘real’ job.  College soccer doesn’t allow a player to progress, it generally stunts a player’s growth.  Players could benefit so much more playing in a reserve league, rather than waste time playing subpar competition in college.  Listen, I grew up in a family that held a college degree in the highest regard.  So I understand that college has a big role in how kids view their future.  But, if a kid can be signed to a contract at 18, and he wants to be a professional soccer player, he has to understand that college will destroy that dream.  If you have the chance to be a professional, take that chance, college isn’t going anywhere.   This mindset isn’t MLS’s fault, but contracts for players at a younger age could go a long way in changing it. 

In order for MLS to succeed, it has to restructure how it sees youth development.  MLS can’t expect to improve its image on the world stage by trying to bring in a couple of big name players while populating the remaining roster slots of each club with players that make $35,000 a year.  MLS has to sign players to professional contracts at younger ages, and not allow the best talent in the country to stagnate in the college ranks.  MLS has to show that money can be made being a professional soccer player.  The reserve league was the chance to have these young professionals perfect their trade through better competition than they would get on the college level.  But, the MLS has dropped the ball once again when it comes to improving the league through long-term thinking.  I hate it, because I want a league that I can support and be proud of in America.  But, I can see so many flaws and mishaps that it has almost become comical.  Please MLS, call me.

I’ll post more on this tomorrow, as I could go on for days about this topic.

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